[Tgo]

from....

• double digits Above 0°C to double digits Below
• 100 km in a Week to 100 km in a Day
• French quirkiness to German sophistication
• Dine-ins to Drive-throughs
• Diesel to Gas
• Manual to Automatic
• Road trips to Essential travel

This thread took really long to put together and there's so much to talk about transitioning to an LHD country adding to that the sub zero weather in the winters. Hoping to put my thoughts across as they come by and keep the ownership experience updated for as long as I own this car.

Likes:
-Its called the Big-uan for the space available inside
-Standard safety and equipment package
-Planted ride and sure footed handling
-Decent fuel economy

Dislikes:
-Lethargic pick-up in normal mode
-Non adjustable front centre arm rest
-Some rattles and squeaks
-Looks like an overgrown station wagon

1. Intro and finalising the car
2. Specs and Features
3. Winter Driving
4. Life with the Tiguan

[Tgo]

Hello to everyone on the forum. Some of you, who know me a little, know that I moved to Canada last year. With the change in coordinates, a lot has gone through with settling-in and embracing the new way of life here. Believe me when I say, it is no different from learning to live by yourself again, like the first time you're out of college. I always dreamed of getting a Mazda or a Subaru as my first car, when I was sitting on the other size of the fence and everything looked greener in Canada. Once neck deep in the waters, the reality hit me hard. It was a long wait for me. Full marks for support to my wife, who never complained, commuting to work or doing grocery runs with bags full and waiting for the bus in icy cold weather. After 8 months of getting accustomed to public transit, something I dreaded in India, and our first baby on the way, the topic of getting a car was akin to the elephant in the room touching all four walls.

Pretext
To be honest, I had given up searching for cars knowing that it would be the biggest investment, if you could even call it an investment. I used to look up the specs of entry level cars from every make, in those days without a job, trying to churn numbers in my head to miraculously arrive at an imaginary stash of cash, that could make it happen. Eventually it drew me away from the forum with nothing worthwhile to contribute. Moving from RHD to LHD and mostly being ferried around in the back seats, I had lost interest and confidence in driving too.

With the automobile market turned upside down after COVID, North America is no different. 8-10 grand Canadian could get you a lightly used car which you could run without issues for 5-6 years or longer. In that money today, you either get rusty fender American cars with over 200,000 km on the odo or some Japanese/Koreans with 400,000 km on the odo. Either one, just waiting to throw a mechanical tantrum, or boring you to death with its blandness.

Then there is the Insurance situation. You pay more initially when you have no driving history in North America. As you build up a clean record, your premiums start going down in subsequent years. It also depends on the class of license you hold. On the graduated driving license (GDL 5) that I have which everyone else also gets after their learners, insurance turns out to be equal to what you pay for your car in a month. And unlike India, you dare not want to use it. If you think about it, the amount you pay for insurance, in the first few years, is what you can spend on city transit pass for work + Uber for all other needs. Yes, it doesn't make any financial sense, to date.

Narrowing Down
So anyway, I was fortunate enough that the Friends I discovered here in Canada through family in India, are partners and have their own car dealership. I initially pestered them on two occasions to try and find me a car in the $6-8K range and was politely declined due to obvious reasons. There were too many variables and uncertainties with used examples in that price range.

On the third occasion, I was hunting for a new or new-ish Corolla or a Civic. Which was unobtanium in March-Oct 2022. My friend had a few cars ordered new but they had no confirmation on when they would reach their lot. On one of those visits, I was shown two other options. A 2020 Jetta and a 2020 Tiguan. These were low mileage options with the Jetta Comfortline at 48,000 km retailing for CAD 26,000 and the Tiguan Trendline at 25,000 km retailing for CAD 33,000. The brand new Corrolla XLE or a Civic EX would cost in the same ball park CAD 28-30,000. There was another Tiguan with similar age and mileage but was higher up in the model range with a panoramic roof, leather seats and bunch of other options retailing for CAD 37,000. There was a storm of questions brewing up in my head.

VW, seriously?
DSG failure, don't want that.
I am going to street park it, what if...?
EA888 2.0 TSI, carbon build up issues in the intake.
I can live without AWD, right?
Do I need the extra space? Or should I go for more gadgetry?
Could I afford the 20% higher fuel consumption?

...You see how the questions were all related to the Tiguan.
I realised, my mind had made a decision. I spent the next two nights clearing the doubts.

The most of the Tiguans in Canada are AWD so can't run away from that. A blessing I would say.
Even though this is a Tiguan (considered a premium SUV in India) in context, it is equivalent to a Brezza in India. It is not a Porsche that I worry about street parking it. I anything is is less prone to "grand theft auto".
Surprisingly but also pleasantly, there is not DSG in the Tiguan here. It comes with an Asian 8-Speed Conventional Torque Convertor Automatic. Good riddance.
Among other examples fuel consumption is higher, but the space on offer is unmatched. Especially once you factor in tall front row passengers and car seat on the 2nd row.
EA888 carbon buildup was the only Issue. This is a Direct Injection engine and in a different configuration in other parts of the world, a secondary set of fuel injectors are provided in the intake manifold which clear up the deposits on the intake valves, but not in North America. But VW has had this or a variant of this engine in a bunch of group cars like the Porsche Macan and some Audis too. How bad can it be? We'll see how that goes. BTW, these things rack up miles like crazy as Taxis in Europe.

Getting her Majesty's blessings
So after two days, I tell my wife to wrap up early from work. We have to go see a car. She knows has heard me mentioning something about a Corolla and a Civic but is asking me to wait for another month. We finally are out, take the bus and get off at the nearest stop to the dealership. We forgot the umbrellas in a hurry and the weather doesn't look good. It starts to drizzle and we had to walk 2 km, or so we had planned. Within the next few yards, the drizzle became a downpour and we run for cover under a tree waiting there for a good 10 minutes, almost getting drenched and kind of not saying it but knowing that I should thank the weather god in some way for rubbing "not having a car" in like this.

We finally reach there and my friend pulls out the car from the lot and hands me the keys to go on a test drive. My wife was like, aren't you going to ask him to come along? I gave her the - I guess that's not how test drives work in this country - look. So we both took our seat and gently edged out onto the road and for the next 30 minutes drove in evening rush hour traffic. I was trying my best to blabber about the car and its positives while nervously driving the bus route which was the only route we could navigate without hooking up the maps and creating more distractions.

Back at the dealership, we went in and my friend started talking numbers. Moved onto my doubts about the reliability compared to a Honda/Toyota. I was explained two things: A) This car is still under factory warranty B) Where are you getting a 25k run Honda/Toyota in the used market. Well, that was fair answer! and in fact all I wanted to hear. I didn't see any concerns being raised by my wife on the financial front. So I went on to emailing them copies of the documents needed to finance it and the registration. Collected from them a few contacts for insurance brokers and it was a done deal.

[Tgo]

The Tiguan is the best selling model for for VW world wide with over 6 million sold since its launch in 2008 (TopGear UK). In North America it has attracted many Jetta buyers in this "enchanted by SUV" era, and is the most VFM compact SUV in the market competing with other good sellers like the Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rouge, Honda CRV and a few others. For an outsider like me it looked like the spiritual successor to the Golf Alltrack. Which I do not mind at all, the similarity on these two except for the front end is really striking.

The full list of specs and equipment options is attached. The key highlights for me are the following features.

Engine

The engine in this Tiguan is a Gen. 3B EA888 2.0 L TSI from the VW group. With a 184 HP and 300 Nm configuration as standard. VW has actually gone ahead and given this a new engine combustion cycle which closes the intake valves before the piston reaches BDC thereby reducing the compression ratio. Effectively less air to compress inside the cylinder (than Otto cycle) means less energy lost. Which makes the engine efficient in light load conditions but it reduces the power output.

https://youtu.be/JjM14JBPdBI

Compared to it's competition, the Tiguan is criticised to have a dull throttle response. That is quite evident. But you might discount it for the fact that it might be returning better fuel efficiency. Well, yes and no. Due to its size and weight (2,300 kg GVWR) it is also heavier than its rivals by 200 kg and uses a conventional automatic versus CVTs in the competition. It actually is least efficient of the lot. But definitely more than anything else that weighs the same.

So what's good then?
It is relatively silent. Offers decent torque.
And you can always slot it into S and let the engine management system switch back to a conventional Otto Cycle to wring out the 184 HP, sharper throttle response and quicker gearshifts, also less of them as it caps at the 6th ratio.

Auto Start-Stop:
The Tiguan has an auto start-Stop functions which works great (seamless and you can also control it if you know when it triggers.) As any system there are a set of conditions which need to be fulfilled:
-Electrical load (drain) on the battery. Depends on what all is running in the car. Most noticeable is the steering input as this is an Electronic Power Steering equipped car and the HVAC blower speed.
-Set cabin temperature and how it is affected by outside temp.
-Gear selection, almost always in Park, the car shuts down automatically and turns back on when you move out of Park.
-Brake pedal has to be depressed beyond a certain amount. If you learn this position you can control the turning on and off of the engine yourself.

Transmission
This Aisin 8-speed automatic is supposedly the world's first 8-speed for transverse engine configurations. It has a Toyota connection for its development and is used in Lexus, Toyota, BMW, Citroen, Peugeot vehicles. I am quite happy with the fact its not a DSG. Then again my brief exposure to a DSG in a Q3 didn't have any lasting impact as it felt unnecessarily snappy and came with a lot of baggage with unreliable stamps on it.
It has the S mode which cuts out the 7th and 8th ratio. Shifts can be done manually through the lever. Higher up in the line-up you can get paddle shifters on the steering. It allows you to start from a standstill in 2nd gear, to tackle low traction conditions (ice / snow).
Simply put, it does the job. It is also the first automatic transmission that I have driven extensively and having no benchmarks, I would call its performance adequate, and anyway better than a manual. Never had it hunt for gears or disturb the balance of the vehicle unexpectedly.

AWD Modes
The 4-motion system allows you to choose between 4 traction modes.

Snow - Dulls down the throttle response to prevent wheel spin. And also allows starts in 2nd gear to help further.
On-Road - your go to mode for 99% of good weather driving. It gives you four different powertrain maps to play with.

Eco (E) - Aimed at fuel efficiency, Gearbox quite eager to upshift and holds higher gears for longer.
Normal (D) - Offers a balanced setting and is good for most driving conditions.
Sport (S) - Sportier engine and transmission response. Sharper throttle response and the transmission doesn't upshift after the 6th gear.
Individual - Allows some customisation. haven't played around with it.

Off-Road - Better fuel delivery to get you out of tricky situations and put down the power when needed. It makes the engine braking available always, and also locks the shifting to a certain gear when the situation demands for it, like long pulls through slush or loose surfaces which need you to hold a gear rather than upshifting.
Off-Road individual - Probably allows some customisation which I have not dug into yet.

Different approach to the basic safety Kit:

Child Seat - Isofix mounts on all three seats, including the top tether. The middle seat is narrower so one mount from either seat can be used to tether the base down and there's a separate top tether to use in this case.

Auto Headlamps and DRL - DRLs are always on. No option to turn them off even if you wanted. They are mandatory by law. Auto headlamps was a good surprise. I have never turned the headlamps on manually ever since.

Rear Camera no sensors - This was a bummer. I was accustomed to hearing the beep for guidance. I still do not feel comfortable with the camera. It has a limited field of view and needs regular cleaning. Thankfully, the rear washer also activates the washer nozzle for the camera. We have the sensors mandatory by law, its the camera in this part of the world.

Heated ORVMs - I have used them only a handful of times. Its best if you have ice on the mirror, but clearing up the snow when it's still loose works best for me rather than waiting for the mirror to heat up and melt it away.

Blind spot monitors - I think this is another feature required by law. This version has the amber indicators on the ORVM bracket. Other models come with the indication lighting up through he ORVM glass. If you're in your lane and a car is in the blind spot, the indication lights up amber. If you have the turn signal and there's a car in the blind spot, the indicator lights up and blinks 5-6 times to give you a significant alert to check before changing the lane.

Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Collision Mitigation Assist - I knew about the cross traffic alert, it gives you a subtle audio alert to let you know that there is a vehicle or an object behind you. It works only in the reverse gear. I think it works off the same sensors which monitor your blind spots. The sensors are behind the bodywork below the tail lamps on either corner. This is the reason why I think there is no parking sensors. But the issue is the object must be moving for these sensors to detect it. It doesn't detect walls etc.

The Collision Mitigation Assist, is something I discovered accidentally. I was backing up out of a parking spot and there was a car inching slowly behind me, The car was beeping and I knew why, I even had my foot on the brake as I was reversing out but suddenly there was a jerk and I thought I had crashed into the car behind me. Left me startled. Within the next second I see a homeless guy walk upto my window asking for some change to spare. The condition is that the car should detect no change in input on the brake pedal for this feature to trigger and bring the car to a complete and abrupt halt. Neat!

Infotainment
It comes with a quick responding touch screen unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity via USB-C ports. The systems has a 8 speaker set-up. I find it adequate for my needs. Starting last year I also gave up all sorts of online streaming subscriptions including Apple Music. I listen to the Radio mostly. Lots of news, talk shows, podcasts and an assortment of music, whatever interests me at that hour of the day. I have my 6 favourites channels pre-set to the first page that has me happy for now. The system has a really fast latch on to bluetooth connectivity which I really like. It stays on even when the key is turned to the off position, and only when you pullet key out does the system turn off whatever you were playing or if you were on a call, it switches back to the phone.

Fun fact, I noticed for the first time that speakers need to warm up otherwise they have a totally different sound signature. On those days when temperature is 30 below, this is easily noticeable.

It serves you with some basic driving statistics, like on other VW models (long term and trip fuel consumption etc.) and also serves as the screen to set the TPMS sensors. TPMS is a basic one, it doesn't provide a live readout, but it is smart enough to let you know which wheel is low on pressure.

[Tgo]

So let's get to the good part. It's nothing new but these things were quite fascinating to me.

5 PM rush hour traffic.

I am happy to have found such a variation in the surface you drive on in Canada. We think it is all good roads and infrastructure which is true to an extent, but you get snow in the winter, gravel for when the roads are sanded to aid traction, ice, slush, wet and dry tarmac. If this doesn't keep you entertained and focussed while driving, I cannot think of anything else that will. No wonders Nordic countries have really good drivers, as they learn to go sideways before they learn to go straight. Wheel spin, skids, braking, weight transfer all the basics of learning vehicle dynamics and control can be experienced as slow speeds and everyone gets to experience them in these slippery situations. Its not just the presence of water in different forms on the road, the low temperature also weighs in heavy and has a consequence on everything from grip to fuel efficiency.

The ubiquitous mall crawler in the parking lot.

Engines do not like to run hot, it is the same case when it gets sub zero, they have a tough time getting warmed up. Modern engines compensate by dumping in more fuel initially to get the engine to its optimal operating temp. And running the heater only worsens the situation, with the coolant letting out the heat gained through the heater core to heat the cold air in the cabin. Add to this the fact that every lubricant in the engine, gearbox, differential and any other crevice has thickened up and drags everything down in those components of the powertrain. You can expect a drop of almost 1.5 km/l if you have short commutes.


The there's the winter prep. for your car before the season sets in and while you trudge through winter. Three basic things that are essential;

Change of Tires: By law, Alberta only asks you to have All-Season tyres which have a deeper and wider tread pattern to allow the snow to fling out and clear the tread. Snow actually sticks like mud and can make your tyres turn to slicks if the grooves are packed up with it. Then there are all weather tires which have a more aggressive tread pattern akin to the mud/slush knobby tyres we know. These also have a softer compound than the All-seasons to remain more elastic and in effect grippy. Then come the winter tire which have sipes in them. These sipes are basically making the knobby parts of the tyres rougher by adding micro grooves (sipes) and they also have the soft compound. Last in are the studded tyres which are winter tyres with sipes and actually have metal studs embedded in the rubber to claw onto ice like surfaces, they do make a racket on tarmac though. So every winter, people get their tyres swapped or changed. Some keep a second set of rims ready to bat on when needed. So Ideally if you have a set of all season tires, that's all you need legally, but its mediocre performer. People usually have a set of grippy summer/all season tires for the summer and a set of winter tires for the colder months.

Studded tyres up close.

Washer Fluid: Mind you, I say washer fluid and not water. It was a "I was this years old when I.." moment for me when I learnt why there is a need for a dedicated washer fluid and not water in the windshield washer reservoir. Water would freeze instantly. And you need to clear up the windshield almost every 5 minutes or so because of all the muck being thrown up after snow and slush. These fluids are at times rated to -45°C. You also cannot keep drinking water in non-insulated bottles inside the car. In the door pockets a disposable water bottle would take only a few hours to freeze completely.

Tank-up, Gear-up, Stock-up
This is more of a change in your usual pattern of re-fuelling. You don't want to be suck in a jam with the fuel running low. Accidents are very common and recovery and clearing up the roads can take hours. You cannot afford to stop the engine for more than 15 minutes in a warmed up car. You feel the cooling down of the cabin happen very quickly. It's imperative to get a snow brush and scraper to clear the windshield and lights after a dump of snow. The scraper helps to break down the ice that usually forms on the glass area. Since the glass is warmer from the cabin heat, snow falling on the glass quickly melts and solidifies as ice on it. The brush is used to dust the loose snow from the exterior and also from yourself after your'e done. Also, it's a good idea to keep some snacks and a warm blanket in the car if you venture out of the city quite often or commute desolate routes at odd hours.

https://youtu.be/SygrdCMLIBQ

Clearing up after an overnight light dusting of snow. That's after you shovel the drive way.

Other things that people do but you can live without in modern cars are -

Engine Block Heater: This is an electrical accessory which basically is a heating element which is screwed onto the engine block. The element sits in the coolant gallery and heats up the plugged into an electrical outlet. You have these outlets in parking lots as well and have to carry a cabe to plug this in for the block heater to work. It is supposed to warm up the engine block, coolant and the oil to get the fluids flowing freely. With modern engines using synthetic oils the need for block heaters is no longer there. I have cranked up the car successfully in temperatures as low as -29°C

Battery Tender: Yes, the juices inside the battery also fail to function and the battery tender helps keep it in good shape.

Remote Starter: This a more of a convenience feature to pre-heat the car by starting it remotely. The car runs and warms up and the HVAC system does its job to heat up the cabin based on what it was last set at.

Special Note on Car Washes:
This was another one of those things I realised after the first winter. Drive through car washes are not a fun and frill item. You just cannot do a manual car wash in this weather. And you cannot go without a carwash for long. The salty slush gets into the nooks and crannies of the wheel arches and given sufficient time can start eating the metal away.

You have a regular drive through car wash which has those foam bristle rollers which wipe off the dirt and grime from the surface of the car. You have water and soap spray stations to assist the rollers and you get a hot air curtain in the end to get you relatively dried when you exit. Cost CAD 10 on an average. Also most of these car washes have a vacuum station and air filling station. Vacuum session is free per car wash and is timed (~ 3 minutes). You have to go there prepared with everything out of the way before you start your session.
The other more famous one these day is the touchless car wash. Which uses only high pressure water jets to clean the car. It takes away the rollers and is essentially giving you a scratch/swirl free result. You still drive through it like a regular car wash. Costs CAD 12-15 depending on the products you want on the car (soap, wax etc.)Finally you also have the wash booth kind of car washes. Equipped with Pressure washer, foam sprayer, brush, mitt etc. This one charges you for the time you have these nozzles active. Its cheaper is you know how to do this quickly. Cost like CAD 2 per minute or something like that.

https://youtu.be/crGqg4DP7no

Another fun fact is that the car washes shut down after a certain temp (for example say -20°C), and not because the water freezes, its because of very high chances of the glass cracking due to thermal variation of warm water on icy cold glass, which becomes a liability for them if someone goes and sues them for damages.

[Tgo]

Cars are sized very differently here. This one looks like a tiny tot next to some of the "American" built trucks.

Comes in handy

I have moved a house in this car. Of course it can take your bags and boxes. I have moved a sofa, dining table and chairs, the kitchen, study table, bookshelves and what not for a household of two. The only thing I needed the U-Haul for was the king size mattress.


Garage shelving project? No problem, that's all the 8ft 2x4 lumber and OSB you need for it.


Need a change table for an infant, no worries. folding 20-split in the back seat worked well for our 2 month old.

Sophistication

There are subtleties which I have experienced for the first time in car ownership which just make me go wow. I do not know how this trickles down for higher specced cars and makes it through after even the most rigorous cost cutting regime this brand has gone through in the recent past.

https://youtu.be/H_s7lAXsylI

Sun-Visor Mirror and Illumination


Speedo Markings, you see how the graduations are farther apart till 60 and placed closer beyond that. One would want a precise readout at slower speeds right. Neat touch.

https://youtu.be/BWqupDnw7WI

Damped Grab Handles. Why not?


Rear Cabin Light Control within reach of the front passengers. Great idea.

https://youtu.be/0tlexMVL56M

Damped Sunglass Holder, lined with a soft rubber liner to keep the rattles in check.


Lug nut caps, cover the lug nut and protect it from collecting dirt and road grime. Giving you access to clean lug nuts when you need them.


CarGo Accessories. if you see this mat I have in the trunk this acts like a Velcro base and I can get these blocks which are L-shaped corners which stick to it and prevent your cargo from sliding around.

Soft click stalks, Love how they have a tactile feel but very minimal sound compared to the loud clicks that can be heard by every passenger in the car, that I am used to.

Audio in the infotainment system, remains on until the key is pulled out. If you are on a call, the phone stays connected until the call is disconnected or the driver door is opened.

Lined door pockets. Large pockets which can hold your double walled flasks and they are lined with felt all around, not just the base or sides. They are the same size for all four doors.

Electronic HVAC Controls. Though they are not automatic they are not mechanically linked to the ventilation doors also. You turn the knob with soft inputs, not the janky mechanical links that required force or had varying levels of effort depending on the physical position of the blending doors.

Washer Fluid Warning comes up when you are running low on fluid. Gives you. good 4/5 squirts worth of reserve before the reservoir goes dry.

Outside Temp Warning which I didn't think much of initially. But imagine you are driving in the comfy interiors and you have set it up to let you know when temp. goes below freezing. I think it is a nice feature to remind you to drive carefully since you could suddenly encounter ice.

Hidden headrest release. The front seat headrests seem like they cannot be removed. But there is a trick. The area just below the headreast on the seat back is where you press for them to come out. Reason for ti being hidden is still beyond me.

Oil change and inspection reminders. You can set them up individually. The reminder comes up after a pre-set number of kilometres, but it is nice to have different counters for them as the inspection is done at 30k and oil change at 15k.

Rear seat fold down from boot. You have loops on the sides of the rear seats to fold them down and also have release handles in the boot for left and right separately to release those latches remotely.

Auto Start-Stop Conditions
-Interior heats up or cools down significantly due to outside temp.
-If the vehicle starts moving
-If the 12-volt battery voltage decreases under a set threshold.
-Steering input, as the car has an EPS

Wiper rest and service positions are a famous little quirk of VW cars that everyone knows of. I have also noticed that the wipers move slightly over from rest position when the engine is turned on, possibly to heat them up from the de-froster air blowing on the windshield.

Off Road Mode has neat little tricks apart from providing engine braking and limiting to lower gears for putting down the power to the ground. It also
disables Auto Start-Stop and enables Hill descent depending on the grade.

Introspection

The more time I spend thinking about it the more I am assured of the fact that I am the "Any Car" kind of automobile enthusiast. It's not about fast, flash, mods or tech for me. I love any car that has taken me from point A to B and has been kept well by its owner. More importantly, it must have served its purpose of being functional. I hate garage queens and that's why I have a tough time connecting with cars that are prohibitively expensive.

In the course of putting this post together, I got a chance to visit India and drive there after a break of 16 months and although I was apprehensive on the first day, it all came back naturally to me. Drove across 4 states and almost 3000 kms in a span of 20 days on all sorts of cars and traffic conditions and the Finding a parking spot in cities is the biggest deterrent for me I would say. I can deal with the cacophony, crowded streets, slow moving traffic and all the stupidity that ensues but finding a decent parking spot is a luxury in tier 2 cities specially if you are not going to a mall.

With regards to lesser time spent on the forum, I feel a certain someway about it. It is to do with more important things which come with moving base to a different country taking precedence over maintaining meticulous service records and penning down travelogues, doing your own oil changes and discussing upgrades. Also having limited means to indulge into this passion for the time being has a major part to play.

So coming to my thoughts on the Tiguan overall, I would say it seems like a car that we could stick with for some time. Hopefully there would be updates to this thread or in the travelogue section in the future. Would be glad to share them with you.

Current Odo: 42,580 km

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Hayek]

Nice thread. Must say I was surprised to learn about the Budak cycle engine in this car - while my Allspace has the same EA 888 engine, I did not pick up this point in any of the reviews. Also the specs are slightly different - my car gets 188 BHP and 320 NM of torque vs 184 and 300 for your car.

Else the cars are very similar - like all mass market cars that turn in Masstige cars in India, the Allspace has much better interiors but misses on some of the smart car features that you have.

I must say this is a nice car to drive, at least in the DSG avatar, and hope you enjoy it for a long time.

[Sangwan]

Awesome review Tgo! I was looking forward to your review as I was wondering what he drives in Canada as you commented on my friend's Ford Escape thread. Tiguan is a nice looking car although from VW stable I like the Atlas more appealing, but that's my choice.

Wishing you millions and millions of happy miles and hope to see you and Tiguan soon someday in real!

Cheers,
Sangwan

[subuiyer]

Well written and paints a very good picture of life in a cold place where it snows. Living in temperate/tropical country that India is, we drivers take so many things for granted.

Your story reminds me of the year I spent in Minneapolis (not as far north as you are). Living in hotel and riding a different rental each time.

Nov to early May, getting the car ready for commute to work was a drill, though the drive was less than 15 mins on some days. The most exciting thing I remember was locating the car after a weekend snow dump one March, and then shoveling to clear the driver door and exhaust areas. Also, a few incidents like getting the snow chain wrong the first few times and a skidding bus taking out my OVRM at a light.

Then one mid-Aug evening returning to the car in the open office parking lot, I found my spare specs left on the dash had melted. The thermometer read 47 C.

Surely you miss the simplicity of driving the Duster around.

[Dr ST]

Hi,
Congratulations on your Tiguan. We own a Tiguan Allspace which is close to 60,000 km. No issues as of now. Would anyone please elaborate on carbon built-up and how to deal with it? Wishing you trouble-free ownership. One more thing - the write-up is awesome.

Regards

[ron_9191]

Considering the fact I am moving to Toronto next month... this thread was godsend. Absolutely informative. Thanks for having it here.

[infotech58]

Congratulations! Tiguan is an under appreciated no nonsense vehicle that most people overlook.

Given Calgary's weather, oil change/service interval of 15k km seems excessive (if you plan to keep the vehicle for long term and specially if you do short trips), I would suggest reducing that to 8k km/6 months (at least for an oil/filter change).

[Amukherjea]

Very nice write up about Tiguan American edition.
I have a Tiguan 2017 and diesel. Touch wood no issues with DSG box at all.
All those little touches of comfort and efficency that you mention are in my car. Discovered most by accident. The cold weather stuff I got because we drove to Himalayas in winter. Luckily my car does not have stop start system. I find it a pain in the you know where.
I wish you very best in your ownership of the Tiggy. Never had heard about the Biguan!!
I have carried 2 split aircon blowers and units with out any sweat.
What size rims you have?
Also for the tyre change over are you using another set of rims?
Best of luck

[Tgo]

A big thank you to everyone for congratulating me and the good wishes.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Nice thread. Must say I was surprised to learn about the Budak cycle engine in this car - while my Allspace has the same EA 888 engine, I did not pick up this point in any of the reviews. Also the specs are slightly different - my car gets 188 BHP and 320 NM of torque vs 184 and 300 for your car.

Manufacturers play around with the state of tune for different markets. I would like to know if the Indian Tiguans get a secondary set of injectors for Port injection? The issue here is that they have a North America specific model, the Atlas, which uses the same engine and that gets the better tune and DSG.

Originally Posted by Sangwan

Tiguan is a nice looking car although from VW stable I like the Atlas more appealing, but that's my choice.

Thank you for the good wishes. I wold love to see your SantaFe too. if I were to go for an older Car I had my eyes on it. The model you have, which is the first one launched in India.

I can still digest the Atlas but not its cross avatar. It is VW's exercise in bloating up cars to appeal to the American car buyer, the engines are mostly the same with the Tiguan R-Line tune and DSG, and a V6 I guess in the Atlas R-line.
If ever I get a second car, I would love to have a Subaru wagon.

Originally Posted by subuiyer

Your story reminds me of the year I spent in Minneapolis (not as far north as you are). Living in hotel and riding a different rental each time.
Surely you miss the simplicity of driving the Duster around.

I miss the Duster in the sense I feel that it is underused in India. AWD, softer suspension and the frugal Diesel engine would have done wonders in this scenario. Nice to know I could trickle a small dose of nostalgia for you.

Originally Posted by Dr ST

Would anyone please elaborate on carbon built-up and how to deal with it?

Thank you very much.
I believe the carbon build up on the intake ports and valves is a known issue for these engines and there are some foam based cleaning kits and CO2 blasting methods which claim to be effective for these situations. I wish no one gets to experience that. It would be worthwhile to check if your's has a secondary set of injectors on the intake port, in which case build up would be minimal or close to none.

Originally Posted by infotech58

Given Calgary's weather, oil change/service interval of 15k km seems excessive..., I would suggest reducing that to 8k km/6 months (at least for an oil/filter change).

Yes, I get the oil change done at 8K like you mentioned. I can understand why. With the cooler temperatures one cannot wait the full term of 15K as the oil starts getting loaded with combustion products which makes it thick. Something which should not be a problem with modern Synthetic oils specific for the weather.

Originally Posted by Amukherjea

Very nice write up about Tiguan American edition.
I have a Tiguan 2017 and diesel. Touch wood no issues with DSG box at all.
Never had heard about the Biguan!!
What size rims you have?
Also for the tyre change over are you using another set of rims?

Thank you and it is nice to know you own the came car. The diesels were actually much better and I wish you a long and stress free ownership.

Biguan, I heard here only. Specially since the older more curvier one was significantly smaller in dimensions.

My car came with 17"x6.5J rims, with 215x65 section tyres. I could upgrade the width but prefer thinner tyres for winter.

I get the tyres swapped, do not have a second set of rims yet. Two reasons - funds, and also it would need the TPMS sensors to be swapped out every time. I do not know if they are the fixed or replaceable types so didn't bother much.

[TheGearBox]

Awesome review. All the best for your life in Canada.
Can we expect you to acquire another Tiguan sometime in the future and make this thread "A Tale of two Tiguans" like your Duster thread?